Augusto Mendes Pulled from UFC Fight Night 128 Due to Potential Anti-Doping Violation

Augusto Mendes has been removed from a proposed bout against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC Fight Night 128 due to a potential anti-doping violation, the promotion announced on Tuesday.

The UFC’s full statement on the matter is as follows:

The UFC organization was notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Augusto Mendes of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected on March 7, 2018.  Due to the proximity of Mendes’ upcoming scheduled bout at UFC Fight Night “Barboza vs. Lee” in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 21, 2018 against Merab Dvalishvili, Mendes has been removed from the card and the UFC is currently seeking a replacement.

USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case involving Mendes. Under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed.  Additional information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.

A four-time Legacy Fighting Championship veteran, Mendes is 1-2 during his promotional tenure. Most recently, “Tanquinho” suffered a unanimous decision loss to Aljamain Sterling at UFC on Fox 24 in April 2017.

UFC Fight Night 128 takes place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on April 21 and is headlined by a lightweight clash between Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza.